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I had a cat scan several years ago and the tech left me in the tube for like a long time and by the time he tried to take the test , I was so upset and anxiety set in I threw up and have never been able to take one since and my dr seems to refuse to medicate me . I think if I was medicated I could do it , Im not certain I can ever do another one and the mri forget that too . This is in a small town where I live though and they said a bigger hospital might have an alternative to the cat scan like one that goes around you instead of a tube . The reason they wanted to do the cat scan was /is because Im recovering from pneumonia and it has not been an easy road at all . Someone told me the reason my lungs are hurting is because I'm using them again and I am recovering . they took x rays and said the pneumonia is gone and to be honest except for the lungs hurting I am feeling better .The reason they think the recovery is taking so long is because I was sick for a long time . So does anyone know anything that will help me overcome this anxiety ?

Totally all about the xanax, or valium. There's no shame in needing one pill a half hour before a cat scan or MRI; it's common, you won't become addicted, and unlike drinking valerian tea (blech on the taste), it also won't cause you to suddenly have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the test

Well, I had the Valium at home right before I went to the hospital and still started shaking/crying as I was getting undressed. Since it was in a hospital, they finally gave me IV Librium, put on the headphones with music, and had my son stand outside the tube and pat my foot occasionally. I made it through just fine. I am claustrophobic and that is the only way I will ever do another MRI. All the cat scans I've had were smaller rings that didn't bother me. If your hospital/center has an older model, you might be out of luck. You can always insist on going to a newer facility, even if it means a trip to another town.

The reason I asked this was because last time I tried to take a cat scan in the er I could not do it without being medicated and then the nurse made me sign a paper stating ama (against medical advice ) and she also made me feel bad . My friend said I should have reported her for making me feel bad because I could not take the test and the dr would not medicate me . Alot of nurses I have talked to , said so who is she to make you feel bad we all have our cross to bear so to speak . One girl I talked to said she cannot take kitchen stuff apart because she thinks of all the germs and wigs out . LOL !!!I feel like such a child not being able to do this test . I do believe it is because that one tech left me in the tube for such a long time .

I wouldn't worry about it at all, phonelady. I mean, I wouldn't worry about your phobia. It's a common phobia and nursing staff SHOULD be very well versed in it. If they're not, then they're lousy nurses.

Some time before the day of your appointment, call the doctor's office and inform them that you need mild sedation for the cat scan. Don't ask them, don't seek their advice, don't request suggestions for relaxation techniques. TELL THEM - INFORM THEM..simply, clearly, and politely, that you require mild sedation. Tell them you can either pick it up the day before, at their office if they are licensed to dispense it, or you can pick it up at the pharmacy. Ask if they'd like the pharmacy phone number. They may ask you which form of medication you need; if you have a preference, tell them what it is. If you don't, xanax or valium are both effective (unless you're SouthernBellInUtah ).

Isn't the CT scan that little donut type scanner? Not sure why that would be anxiety producing (I can understand an MRI when it's that long tube). Someone please correct me if I have a wrong impression.

My kind of MRI machine! But as of this article they are only in a few places and we need to be asking about these in our local hospitals! Holy cow!

The American Dynamic Imaging MRI is the whole-body MRI with the ability to perform Position Imaging™. Patients can be scanned in a multitude of positions, including standing, sitting flexion, extension, rotation and lateral bending, as well as recumbent positions used in conventional "lie-down" MRI scanning. Scanning can be upright in weight-bearing positions and in patient's position of pain, providing crucial diagnostic information that is impossible to obtain from conventional MRI.

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